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About the University of Pennsylvania

Singh Center for Nanotechnology

Singh Nano "We Lost"

Franklin Field

Kaskey Garden

PennVet

Working Dog Center

Penn Relays 2013

The University of Pennsylvania

At the University of Pennsylvania, you’ll find a historic, Ivy League school with highly selective admissions and a history of innovation in interdisciplinary education and scholarship. With its green lawns and landmark architecture, Penn’s beautiful West Philadelphia campus houses all of Penn’s activities, from student life, athletics, and academics to research, scholarship, and cultural life. All of Penn’s 12 schools and 6 centers are located within walking distance of one another. This geographical unity, unique among Ivy League schools, supports and fosters Penn’s interdisciplinary approach to education, scholarship, and research.

Historic Roots:
The University of Pennsylvania has the distinction of being the first university in the United States, created by founding father, Benjamin Franklin. Dr. Amy Gutmann was inaugurated as Penn’s eighth President in 2004.

The Mascot:
Penn’s sports teams are nicknamed the Quakers after the religion adopted by William Penn, who established Pennsylvania as a Quaker province. Today, we see the Quaker at Penn football and basketball games.

Hey Day:
In 1916, Hey Day was established as a “Moving-Up” celebration to mark the advancement of each class. Hey Day has represented the official passage of the junior class to senior status and is characterized by marching students parading around campus wearing red T-shirts, carrying canes, and biting into fake straw hats.

Ivy Day:
In 1873, the first graduating class on Penn’s West Philadelphia campus established Ivy Day as a new tradition set aside for the senior class. As a vine was planted and an invocation pronounced, ivy became a lasting symbol for each year’s graduating class

Diversity:
Of those accepted for admission to the Class of 2021, 46 percent are black, Hispanic, Asian or Native American. Women comprise 54 percent of all students currently enrolled.

Internationalism:
Of the international students enrolled in the Class of 2021, 11 percent were from Africa and the Middle East, 48 percent from Asia, 4 percent from Australia and the Pacific, 14 percent from Canada and Mexico, 9 percent from Central and South America and the Caribbean, and 14 percent from Europe.

Conferred Degrees:
Penn has offered and conferred more than 100 different degrees since 1757.

Community Service:
Approximately 14,000 University students, faculty and staff participate in more than 300 Penn volunteer and community service programs, as well as the more than 60 academically-based community service courses that are taught each year.

Athletics and Recreation:
A charter member of the Ivy League, Penn offers intercollegiate competition for men in 17 sports and 16 sports for women.

Research:
With 136 research centers and institutes, research is a substantial and esteemed enterprise at Penn. The scale and interdisciplinary character of our research activities make Penn a nationally-ranked research university.